3.03.2011

Day 143: Accessibility

When Grandma is ready to come home from the hospital she's going to be staying with us for awhile. Today when I stopped to visit I borrowed her wheelchair to see how accessible our house is and what we might need to alter or adjust before she gets here. I gave the kids the task of wheeling it around and making sure they could get everywhere. They were very up for the challenge.

It looks like we're in pretty good shape. We're going to need a little ramp for the 4 inch drop from one living room into the other and another small one for the outside door, but for the most part the chair wheels around everywhere pretty easily. Our floor plan is pretty wide open which is a real plus and pretty lucky since we only really got to design half of it. After having grandparents get older and after spending a few years on the ambulance trying to get people out of all sorts of tricky spaces, I'm much more aware of how houses are put together. I'd really like to be able to just design & build mine the way I'd like. Of course by the time that happens I'm going to be the 80-year-old who needs all the adaptions but I guess that would still be better late than never.

And now if I can only figure out how to keep the kids from stealing Grandma's wheelchair. I also have some fears about a ramp inside the house. . . pretty sure that will look like an awesome place to skateboard or jump a bike. In situations like this in the past I've found that even when I try to explain that absolutely no indoor aerial skating will be allowed, they all have trouble hearing me because they are too busy figuring out the best approach for some indoor aerial skating.

Success! This was probably the trickiest part of the house to maneuver. This bathroom is the easiest to get to, but also the smallest. A tight fit with the chair. Azia was pretty proud when she figured it out right away.

3 comments:

Good to know Grandma will have lots of company and help while she gets better. I was just thinking this afternoon that I felt kind of lousy for not calling her this week to see how she was doing. I haven't talked to her since the day after her surgery, and she sounded pretty worn out. I hope it doesn't take too long for her to recover (or for spring to come--it seems like things like broken hips would be easier to deal with if the weather were pleasant and easy).

The weather is nicer and she seems in much better spirits--though annoyed at how long it's taking to get back to full speed. Today I told her she looked like she was ready to go out to lunch when I got there with her button up shirt and her bright red lipstick in place! Hopefully we don't have too much company for her. My house can be a bit overwhelming but she still seemed to want to come when I offered! Hopefully it's big enough here she'll have her own space till, too.